Willafjord

Traditional Shetland Reel in D major

A lively Shetland reel with a syncopated groove. Willafjord is probably the most famous of traditional Shetland tunes. Even with it’s distinctive syncopation, the tune is relatively easy to learn, and tremendously fun to play. Shetland is a group of islands that is part of Scotland, with a Celtic and Norse cultural heritage.

While there is no geographic location named “Willafjord,” fiddler and author Maurice Henderson, in his book In Search of Willafjord, traces the name to a location in Greenland. That location is Amerloq Fjord, a 22 mile (36km) long fjord that opens into the Davis Strait just south of the city of Sisimiut. From Henderson’s research, Amerloq Fjord was at some point called “Veyde Fiord,” a name that might have evolved to “Willafjord.” The tune is thought to have been brought back to Shetland by Greenland whalers (as noted by Tom Anderson and Pam Swing, in their book Haand Me Doon Da Fiddle).

Recordings

• Video – The Good Tune: Svenske Niels & Willafjord – Featuring Theis Langlands (piano), Kevin Lees (fiddle), Michael Graubæk (fiddle) and Sebastian Bloch (guitar). (Willafjord starts at time 1:47 in this recording.)
• Video – Maurice Henderson: Shetland Stories & Fiddle Tunes: The Greenland Days and the Haaf Fishing — Maurice Henderson (fiddle) and Ewen Thomson (guitar). In this recording, the “In Search of Willafjord” chapter begins with a spoken introduction at time 16:42; the tune Willafjord starts at time 22:29; video clip of dancers starts at time 25:26.)
• Video – Peakfiddler: Willafjord – Shetland Fiddle Tune – solo fiddle with backing

Sheet Music

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Willafjord Reel Set: Spootiskerry (G) / Willafjord (D) / Sleep Soond Ida Mornin (A Dorian)
• Spootiskerry / Willafjord

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More Recordings
  • Video – Jonathan Lay: Willafjord Jam at Northwest Folklife Festival – a spontaneous jam session at Northwest Folklife Festival in Seattle, May 2018. Musicians include Brad Reynolds, Jean Geiger, Gordy Euler, Laura Brophy, and many more.
  • Video – Nykken: Fantaladda / Willafjord — from the album Fager Som En Ros (Fair As A Rose). (Willafjord starts at time 1:19 in this recording.)
  • Video – Paul Young: Spootiskerry and Willafjord – Shetland reels – accordion / melodeon – played on D/G button accordion. (Willafjord starts at time 1:13 in this recording.)
• Books
  • Book – Tom Anderson and Pam Swing: Haand Me Doon Da Fiddle – University of Stirling, 1979. Out of print, but downloadable as PDF file.
  • Book – Susan Songer with Clyde Curley: The Portland Collection, Volume 2 – Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Chris Haigh (The Fiddle Channel): Willafjord (Shetland reel) – video fiddle lesson. Sheet music is shown in video and available by subscription to The Fiddle Channel (Patreon).
  • Lesson – Fiona Cuthill: Spootaskerry Set – Fiona Cuthill – Glasgow Fiddle Workshop Slow Session – fiddle demonstration showing bowing and fingering for a set of three Shetland reels: Spootiskerry; Willafjord; High Road to Linton.
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – North Atlantic Tune List: Willafjord – sheet music, ABC notation, recordings
  • Web page – The Traditional Tune Archive: Willafjord – sheet music, ABC notation, recordings, archival information
  • Web page – The Session: Willafjord – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and more
  • History & Geography
    • Article – Wikipdia: Amerloq Fjord – a brief article about the Greenland fjord that perhaps inspired the name of the tune Willafjord
    • Video – Shetland Times: In Search of Willafjord – a one-minute video introduction to Maurice Henderson book, In Search of Willafjord. “Shetland fiddler Maurice Henderson has released a new book documenting his adventure to Greenland in search of the origins of a well-kent tune he learned as a youngster.”
    • Article – Scottish Fiddle Orchestra: How Willafjord Was Found
    • Book – Maurice Henderson: In Search of Willafjord – fiddler Maurice Henderson’s search for Willafjord leads him to Greenland. Generously illustrated with photographs.
    • Article – Wikipedia: Shetland – an introduction and overview of Shetland
    • Article – Wikipedia: Tom Anderson (fiddler) – a biography of the fiddler whose work preserved and promoted Shetland tunes, including the reel, Willafjord.